When a person is listening to a radio, it is desirable to be able to tune the radio stations that are sending a signal that may be clearly received by the radio. For example, some radios have a seek function in which the radio is tuned to the next radio station that has a signal that may be clearly received by the radio. This eliminates the need to scan the radio dial to try to find a radio station. Eliminating this requirement is also a safety feature that may prevent an accident when tuning of a radio occurs while operating a moving vehicle.
Also known to the art are tuner buttons which allow a user to pre-select frequencies and assign a particular frequency to a specific button. For example, a user enjoys 100.5 Megahertz on the Frequency Modulation band. The user may program a tuner button such that when the button is pressed, 100.5 may be tuned. However, the pre-programmed tuner buttons do not factor in the strength of the radio signal being received by the radio with regard to the particular frequency. If, for example, a particular radio station has been selected and stored as a pre-programmed tuner button and the user's radio is 200 miles away from the source of the radio signal, then when a person depresses the tuner button static may be present due to weakness of the radio signal being received by the radio.
It would be advantageous if a system could disable pre-programmed tuner buttons when the frequency being tuned is out of range for clear reception of the pre-programmed tuner button frequency, thus eliminating static that may be heard without use of the present invention. Further, it would be advantageous if the system could provide an indication of when the pre-programmed tuner button frequency is out of range for clear reception. It would also be advantageous if the system could tune an alternate frequency when a pre-programmed tuner button frequency is not within range for clear reception.